Artist Bluff - Franconia Notch NH

[SquarePeg]

Had a great hike yesterday up to Artist Bluff in Franconia Notch. This hike has been on my bucket list for a while but things kept interfering every time I made plans to do it. I was starting to wonder if it was a bad sign and I should just skip it! It was a little hot for a hike like this yesterday and photo conditions were not ideal - 70 degrees with no breeze at all and not a cloud in the sky at 2:30pm. We decided to go for it anyway and were rewarded with such an incredible view of Cannon Mt and Echo Lake spread out below us. The hike itself was a 7 out of 10 difficulty but we opted to take the shorter steeper trail that goes straight up instead of the loop trail that has a more gradual incline. It was like climbing the steepest staircase of rocks and roots - very narrow in parts and there were a lot of people coming down so we had to continually squeeze over for them. Hiking poles are a must on this trail - especially if you plan to descend the steep trail. My hiking buddy ended up on her butt once on the way down when she felt herself falling forward. Fortunately she had the sense and reflexes to sit down instead of falling forward into me and taking us both for a tumble on the rocks. I have a ton of edits to do but I couldn't wait to put together at least one pano. And there was a surprise visitor while we were up there. Oh yes and also a proposal complete with stealth photographer hired to capture the whole thing. All in all, a great adventure!

Artist Bluff by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Artist Bluff Pano by SharonCat..., on Flickr

The USAF buzzed the bluff while we were up there. It was so bizarre to see. Thankfully there were 2 planes as I didn't recover my surprise in time to get a decent shot of the first one!
Artists Bluff by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Space Face]

Some nice autumnal colours starting to pop through.

 

[K9Kirk]

Very nice set .... you're a leaf on the wind.

 

[SquarePeg]

Some nice autumnal colours starting to pop through.

Yes that area is close to peak - a lot of those trees will be bare by next week. Soon the color will be closer to home and it won't be such a long drive to see it.

Very nice set .... you're a leaf on the wind.

Thanks for leafing the comment.

 

[Jeff15]

Wonderful colours.....

 

[PJM]

Nice compositions and colors. And you caught that plane perfectly.

 

[jeffashman]

Wonderful colors! Nice and sharp, nice comp. I really like how you caught the C-130 pulling up!